Diagnostic device for secondary battery and recovery method for secondary battery

Abstract

A diagnostic device for a secondary battery having a structure in which positive electrodes and negative electrodes are alternately arranged includes an electronic control unit. The electronic control unit is configured to acquire a first resistance value indicating a magnitude of electrical resistance of the secondary battery, compress at least a part of the secondary battery, acquire a second resistance value indicating a magnitude of electrical resistance of the secondary battery after the compression, determine, using the first and second resistance values, whether an amount of decrease in electrical resistance of the secondary battery by the compression is greater than a predetermined value, and determine whether an increase in resistance due to distortion of at least one of the positive electrodes and the negative electrodes occurs in the secondary battery using a result of the determination.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A diagnostic method for a secondary battery having a structure in which positive electrodes and negative electrodes are alternately arranged, the diagnostic method comprising:
 acquiring a first resistance value indicating a magnitude of electrical resistance of the secondary battery before compression, and then compressing at least a part of the secondary battery; 
 acquiring a second resistance value indicating a magnitude of electrical resistance of the secondary battery after the compression; 
 determining, using the first resistance value and the second resistance value, whether an amount of decrease in electrical resistance of the secondary battery by the compression is greater than a first predetermined value; 
 determining whether an increase in electrical resistance due to distortion of at least one of the positive electrodes and the negative electrodes occurs in the secondary battery using a result of the determination on the amount of decrease in electrical resistance; and 
 upon determining that the increase in electrical resistance due to the distortion of at least one of the positive electrodes and the negative electrodes occurs in the secondary battery, executing a predetermined recovery process, 
 wherein the predetermined recovery process includes charging, while a load that compresses the secondary battery is applied to the secondary battery, the secondary battery in a discharged state in which a state-of-charge (SOC) of the secondary battery has become equal to or less than a predetermined SOC value. 
 
     
     
       2. The diagnostic method according to  claim 1 , wherein the predetermined recovery process includes repeating, while the load that compresses the secondary battery is applied to the secondary battery, discharging the secondary battery such that the SOC of the secondary battery becomes equal to or less than the predetermined SOC value and charging the secondary battery in the discharged state in which the SOC of the secondary battery has become equal to or less than the predetermined SOC value, until electrical resistance of the secondary battery becomes equal to or less than a second predetermined value. 
     
     
       3. The diagnostic method according to  claim 1 , further comprising compressing the secondary battery by applying a load from an outside of the secondary battery. 
     
     
       4. The diagnostic method according to  claim 1 , further comprising compressing the positive electrodes of the secondary battery by expanding the negative electrodes of the secondary battery.